BBC 1 Panorama tonight (7 September 2020) - The fight for disabled children's education

Thanks for sharing 

£15,000 to £45,000 was the education cost mentioned, and it continues up to age 25, so naturally the L.A. will fight tooth and nail to avoid it.  When campaigning  with an adult disability group, it was exactly  the same situation, except that what is accepted as a minimum quality of life when funded from the education budget will suddenly  stop when it's  from adult S.S. budget.   The extraordinary thing is the openly practiced Age Discrimination, when even that,  measly budget, drops off yet another cliff for the Older Adults, who are simply banned from  being awarded the same 'essential needs' , the moment they reach the senior age.  This is  despite Age being one of the protected groups, like Race.   

Once, I volunteered in a special school, which was brilliant.  The staff loved those children like their own, and worked hard to achieve little advances.   I thought, even then, how much could be achieved for disabled adults, including the unmentionable pariahs; the Older Adults, with just a fraction of that provision.  I thought, too, how sensible and cost effective  it would be.  Obliging people to rot away in body and mind, isolated, won't  necessarily be a cheap option for the public purse. An ounce of prevention is indeed worth a pound of cure.

It's  interesting that with the increased number of old people in Japan, a new crime wave has happened.   Old ladies deliberately try to get out in prison, to have a worry-free roof and food, and above all to have company.  (One suspects that maybe there is a bit of respect for elders in Japan, so they don't  fear being bullied and beaten up by staff and fellow prisoners,  as they would anticipate happening in u.k.)

I missed that this was on - thanks @Cher_Scope! I will take a look tomorrow

@Cher_Scope Apologies late reply!  Have been away for a couple of weeks.  Did manage to watch programme.  It was not an 'easy watch'.  Parents having to continually battle against the system and justify why their family needs extra support.  Lack of finance continues to impact on individual needs not being met and, as other people have said in this thread, the need for support does not suddenly stop in adulthood.  Despite progress being made, for me - as an historian, I can see how many of the issues faced today are not dissimilar to those of the past.   

Hi,  I still can’t bring myself to watch it to be honest.  My son is one of the children who was (still is ) denied a place back at school directly due to his disabilities, and his alleged danger to others in spreading a virus he doesn’t have. He has a tracheostomy so requires the all important AGPs.  It wasn’t the original reason for removing him from the school roll in favour of home educating, but it certainly was the ‘nail in the coffin’. It’s the end of September now and those children are still not back in schools. I will not have my child exposed to that.  Fortunately I’m in a position to home educate and we’re  having a blast, but it’s not the point really.  I should watch it. Maybe tomorrow ?